Story
These quotes are listed alphabetically by author and then date published. They are included here because, in my opinion, they can spark important reflection. Click on a quote image for further discussion.
E. O. WILSON
”People are intensely interested in the minutiae of behavior of those around them.”
The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 24; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
”We are an insatiably curious species-provided the subjects are our personal selves and people we know or would like to know.”
The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 42; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
”The function of anthropocentricity-fascination about ourselves-is the sharpening of social intelligence, a skill in which human beings are the geniuses among all Earth’s species.”
The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 43; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
”Gossip, celebrity worship, biographies, novels, war stories, and sports are the stuff of modern culture because a state of intense, even obsessive concentration on others has always enhanced survival of individuals and groups.”
The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 43; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
”We are devoted to stories because that is how the mind works-a never-ending wandering through past scenarios and through alternative scenarios of the future.”
The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 24; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
”A great many educated citizens have realized that their own faiths are indeed false, or at least questionable in details. But they understand the rule attributed to the Roman stoic philosopher Seneca the Younger that religion is regarded by the common people as true, by wise as false, and by rulers as useful.”
The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 153; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
”The distinguished physiologist Anton (Ajax) J. Carlson, when asked what he thought of the 1950 ex cathedra (that is, infallible) pronouncement by Pius XII that the Virgin Mary ascended bodily into heaven, is reported to have responded that he couldn’t be sure because he wasn’t there, but of one thing he was certain, that she passed out at thirty thousand feet.”
The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 153; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
”The origin of the human condition is best explained by the natural selection for social interaction—the inherited propensities to communicate, recognize, evaluate, bond, cooperate, compete, and from all these the deep warm pleasure of belonging to your own special group.”
The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 75; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
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The Meaning of Human Existence; p. 153; Copyright © 2014; W. W. Norton, New York.
